1. Over the past two years CC/WI has pushed hard for non-partisan redistricting reform to be in place in Wisconsin by 2021. This Summer we began trying to elevate ending partisan gerrymandering as a campaign issue this year and have been challenging candidates to proactively contact us to express their support for the "Iowa Plan." Now that the August 12th primary election has come and gone, CC/WI is beginning to push those candidates – up for election on the November 4th ballot – to support non-partisan redistricting reform. We have posted the updated list of supporters on our website where you can check back often to see who has been added to the list.
You can play an important role in pushing candidates to support non-partisan redistricting reform by contacting them and telling them to contact CC/WI by email or by phone (608-256-2686 and leave a message if no answer) to get on the list.

2.The Capital Times of Madison has been a tremendous supporter of our efforts to elevate the non-partisan redistricting reform issue and last week published this excellent editorial urging that this issue be kept front and center this Fall when looking at which candidates to support for statewide public office and for the state legislature. Please read it and then press your candidates to support the Iowa Plan.

3. It is downright shocking and sad that less than half of the 99 Assembly seats that will be decided on November 4th have two major party candidates for voters to choose from. WKOW-TV (Channel 27), the ABC affiliate in Madison featured this story late last week with CC/WI commentary on how gerrymandering is undermining democracy in Wisconsin.

4. The only Republican legislative candidate who contacted CC/WI in support of ending partisan gerrymandering thus far, lost in last week's primary election. Conservative Republican Bryn Biemeck had challenged Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington) the most vociferous proponent of the current hyper-partisan, expensive (to taxpayers), secretive and indefensible current redistricting process. Meanwhile, three Libertarian candidates have contacted CC/WI in support of the Iowa Plan. They are the Libertarian candidate for Governor, Robert Burke, for Secretary of State, Andy Craig and for State Representative in the 51st Assembly District, Adam Laufenberg who issued this press release in support of the Iowa Plan yesterday.

5.The Capital Times recently published this opinion-editorial by CC/WI Director Jay Heck and national Common Cause research analyst Jay Riestenberg on the Wisconsin Supreme Court's confusing, recently-issued opinion upholding Wisconsin's extreme and restrictive voter photo ID law enacted in 2011.

Fortunately, a federal court decision striking down this ill-advised and unconstitutional law prevails over the Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling and it is likely that there will be no photo ID requirement in place for the November 4th election.

Sometimes it's good to be a pack rat. In sorting through the CC/WI office recently, we came across a press release from then-State Representative Scott Walker (R-Wauwatosa) proposing that all out-of-state groups that spend money in Wisconsin elections disclose where those funds came from. He strongly supported the type of full disclosure of the donors of outside money that Wisconsin has needed for two decades.

While back in 1997, State Rep. Walker strongly supported electioneering disclosure, Governor Walker has been much less supportive. In fact, he and his allies have been major impediments to providing information voters need about who is behind the millions of dollars being spent in Wisconsin elections – particularly in gubernatorial elections.

Governor Walker could learn something from State Representative Walker.

Below, verbatim, is the March, 1997 Walker press release on his disclosure legislation. Needless to say, it didn't get very far back then and that's a major reason we have so much secret money in Wisconsin today.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

One Candidate for Governor and 51 Other Candidates Endorse
Non-Partisan Redistricting Reform

Burke (not Mary, but the Other One, Robert) and Vos' GOP Primary Opponent Among Those Who Contacted CC/WI

Just five days ago, only a dozen statewide or state legislative candidates up for election this August or November had bothered to take the time and make the effort to inform Common Cause in Wisconsin of their support for non-partisan redistricting reform based on Iowa's 34-year-old widely-acclaimed and successful non-partisan redistricting process.

But since July 30th, additional 40 candidates have contacted CC/WI – boosting the total up to 52 as of this morning. Included in that total are Robert Burke, the Libertarian candidate for Governor and Republican Bryn Biemeck of Mount Pleasant (who is challenging Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in the GOP Primary Election on August 12th). Two additional Libertarian candidates and 48 Democratic candidates have pro-actively contacted us as well so far.
To see the constantly-being-updated list of candidates who have contacted CC/WI telling us they support the "Iowa Plan" for Wisconsin during this election season, go here.

If you are a candidate who supports non-partisan redistricting reform, but have not yet pro-actively told us so, send us an email, call 608-256-2686 (leave a message if no answer) or write to us at CC/WI, P.O. Box 2597, Madison, WI 53701-2597. You will then be added to this list.

One of the reasons we need non-partisan redistricting reform is because we believe legislators elected under such a process will be more responsive to their voters and pay attention to their concerns. If they occupy an utterly safe seat, legislators don't have to be and often are not. This is, in part, an exercise to see which candidates are paying attention!

Stay tuned for new additions to the list!
For our July 24th and July 30th releases on this "challenge to candidates" on this issue, go here and here, respectively.

Go here for an excellent, recent editorial in The Capital Times on the CC/WI challenge (written when there were 22 respondents).

About Us

Common Cause in Wisconsin(CC/WI)We are a non-partisan, non-profit citizen's lobby that focuses on campaign finance, election, and lobby reform, open meetings law and other issues concerning the promotion and maintenance of "clean," open, responsive and accountable government.